Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Review:Noisem-Agony Defined

Metal fans should take note of this review immediately, because Baltimore upstarts Noisem (formerly known as Necropsy) have just released what is sure to be one of the finest albums the genre will see this year. Agony Defined barrels through roughly 26 minutes of furious straight forward death/thrash metal played with the utmost precision, and although this is the band's first full length record, it's almost hard to believe with how perfectly crafted these 9 tracks are.

One thing is definitely apparent straight out the gate with opening track "Voices In The Morgue": Noisem's got fucking RIFFS. There isn't a single track on this record that isn't filled to the brim with mind shredding guitar solos and excellent thrash sections that channel the golden era material of thrash legends like Anthrax, Slayer and Testament combined with the straight forward death metal assault that recalls Cannibal Corpse's blunt death metal attack on steroids. Throughout the record there is a youthful energy and voracious hunger behind the band as well, not surprising given the age of all members range from 20 years old to even younger. That fact is almost astounding when weighed against the sheer musical talent on display here, as the entire band is firing on all cylinders relentlessly throughout the album and crafting some of best written and most memorable death metal songs I've heard in quite sometime. My love for straight up death metal is in quite short supply lately when it comes to newer bands, so it was awesome to hear a record that made me recall many of the classics.

All and all, Noisem have crafted a near perfect example of death metal done right in 2013. It's an extremely promising first taste of hopefully much more to come, both live and recording wise, and another excellent addition to A389's ever expanding roster. With those feeling a rather serious need to bang your head on the regular, look no further then this rager.